Chapter 21 – The Troubadour

“Why look at what this world is like?” Five Bamboos seemed to be pondering something, “Isn’t the place you’re standing in now a part of this world?”

Fan Xian didn’t know how to answer, since he was from another world, it was natural that he would be interested in many aspects of this world, and one of the questions that had haunted his mind for the longest time was: how did he come to this world?

Six years ago when Mr. Fei Jie was still teaching in Tanyu, he had mentioned the temple, and at that time Fan Xian wondered what explanation could there be other than a miracle that could have transformed him from a dying patient on Earth into a teenager like he was now? So he was very curious about the temple and wanted to go and see what was there.

As for Kyoto, it was also a place he really wanted to go to, Fan Ruo Ruo chick didn’t know if she could live a happy life under her stepmother’s lechery, and after being separated from Fei Suo for a few years, he himself had some thoughts of visiting that cute perverted old man.

The most crucial thing was that after lying down for a long time due to illness in his previous life, and being held up in Tanyuzhou for a long time by a child’s body in his present life, contrary to his life, Fan Xian’s heart began to ignite a flame that was enough to burn and pain his spirit and stimulate his desire to do something, to get something.

Peace and ambition, power and happiness, love and beauty …… these terms which are actually not compatible or even out of place, passed through his mind like floating light, and after thinking for a long time, he carefully replied: ”If a person’s life is only one time, then it is always necessary to go to see some different landscapes and meet different people, so that the game that cannot be repeated can be played to the fullest.”

This was from Fan Xian’s heart. In his previous life, when he was on his deathbed, he had thought about how he should spend his time if he had another life.

Five Bamboos said, “What are your plans?”

“First and foremost, I want to make sure I can survive.” Fan Xian squatted down and threw another rock, only this time he didn’t use any force, so it shattered on the gray reef below, “So one must have the ability to protect oneself.”

“And then?”

“Then I set myself three goals.”

Gojira listened quietly.

“First, I’m going to have lots and lots of children. Second, I want to write many, many books, and third, I want to live a very, very good life.”

Fan Xian spoke very calmly about something so absurd and unbearable, and actually didn’t feel a trace of embarrassment.

Deep down in his heart, since this world was not Earth, he himself was even the only representative figure of Earth’s humans in this world. According to biological principles, as the representative of human’s flesh and blood heritage, he himself should be obligated to give birth to many small children in this world.

And at the same time, he thought that he was also the representative of the cultural heritage of the Earth’s human beings, ask how many beautiful artistic achievements have been created by human beings from the ancient times to the present day, and actually can’t find a trace of them in this world, and if he didn’t write (or copy?) Many, many books, so that Cao Xueqin, Kill Bill these cultural heritage in this lonely world to shine, he really feel sorry for those lonely sages in the parallel universe …… Of course, the main thing is to be sorry for himself.

Naturally, he also saw himself as the only representative of Earth’s human beings observing this world, so he wanted to make sure that he lived comfortably, and only in this way could he prolong his life and try to observe for a few more years.

It wasn’t until many years later that Fan Xian somewhat shyly admitted to himself that he was in fact merely seeking a great house of cards for the horny, shameless, and greedy desires that were so deeply hidden within him.

On top of the cliff by the sea, Five Bamboos seemed to take some time to understand what Fan Xian’s three goals actually meant, analyzing calmly, “Then you need to marry a lot of wives, find a lot of tarts, and hire a lot of servants.”

“Tarts?” Fan Xian knew the sentence about how many literati tarts would be here, but was still a bit confused.

“A downtrodden literati specifically used to write book manuscripts for others, without the right to sign their names.”

Fan Xian laughed, thinking that he was prepared to have cattlemen like Old Cao Lao Sha as his big guns, so naturally he didn’t need those tarts, and just as he was thinking that, he heard Five Bamboo continue his calm-to-logic-overly-simplified analysis.

“If you’re going to marry a lot of wives, hire a lot of servants, and find a lot of tarts, you need to make a lot of money. If you’re going to make a lot of money, you’re going to need a lot of power, and if you’re going to need a lot of power, you’re going to need to get closer to the center of power in this country.”

Five Bamboo turned and left cleanly, “When you turn sixteen, we’ll go back to Kyoto.”

Behind him, Fan Xian was still standing on the edge of the cliff in a daze, thinking to himself that he had merely spilled out some of his not-so-over-the-top thoughts in a small way, so how could he have been inferred by this supremely powerful man with some brain problems to some aspect of the country’s power? And he had made the decision to return to Kyoto so crisply–Fan Xian naturally remembered that on the day he was born into this world, he had been carried by Five Bamboos to escape from Kyoto.

He slapped his face vigorously to get himself out of this crying and laughing mood, jogged to follow him, and said with a smile, “Uncle, I’ve revealed my heart to you, so you have to give something back as well, right?”

“What do you want to know?”

“My mother’s matter, why are we being hunted in Kyoto?”

“I’ll tell you all about Miss when you’re sixteen, it’s Miss’s last order. As for the people chasing us, there is no longer a need for you to know, as they died out ten years ago.”

It was already noon when they returned to Tanyu Port, and a long way outside the city Fan Xian parted company with Five Bamboos and entered the city by himself. The residents of the city had long since gotten used to the fact that this young master of the Fan family often went wandering around outside of the city, and although there were no large beasts or very dangerous places in the vicinity of Tanyu Port, there were still some people who felt that the Earl’s Alibi House was too unconcerned about the safety of this illegitimate son.

After all, in people’s eyes, Fan Xian was still an eleven or twelve year old boy.

The residents of Tanyu, who lived idly all day long and didn’t have to pay taxes to the court, were always so idle that they were able to deduce some very strange ideas from many things, such as whether some people in the Earl’s Mansion wished that the bastard would be eaten by beasts in the wilderness, and fall off a cliff to his death.

Thinking that the little boy who always had a cute smile on his face was actually living in such a dangerous mansion, everyone always felt some pleasure with palpitations.

Fan Xian didn’t know what these passersby were thinking, still maintaining the slightly shy smile on his face and slightly lowering his head, he returned to the Count’s other mansion.

Knowing that he was coming back for dinner today, all the subordinates were waiting for him. The old madam was sitting on the eunuch’s chair, her eyes seemingly hiked up as if she was sleepy.